Primary Colors
by Zero Slash One
Summary: Assorted stories centered around Rika/Takato/Henry, in any and all combinations and variations. Polyamory, suggestive content, slash, het, OT3, post-canon. Don't like, don't read. Avatar-image used with permission from FishHeadThe3rdAndAssortedBusinessPartners.
1. 351: Questioning

**Reflection seemed like a good choice to expand upon first, until I get a better idea for a drabble or I finish all 100 themes. One or the other.**

**Review Responses:**

DoNotScream**; Really? You think so? Personally, I don't see it, but if you say so.**

* * *

To say that Renamon was... intrigued, or perhaps, somewhat disoriented, by this conundrum was rather an understatement.

While the kitsune supposed that she ought to feel happy for her Tamer having become more open to her friends over the years, to the point that she only felt uncomfortable and not drop-dead embarrassed at the notion of playing strip poker with the other Tamers, she couldn't help but worry somewhat about this rather new, love-like feeling that was emanating from Rika.

Normally, the kitsune would've assumed it to be a simple crush that the seventeen-year old was experiencing, but somehow, it seemed as though it was directed at two people.

Rika wasn't acting uncharacteristically giddy, but there was just something about Takato and Henry's company that made her seem... Happy, at ease, in a different way than the kitsune did...

From the symbolic or philosophical standpoint, Renamon mused that the notion wasn't entirely unreasonable, as Rika, Takato and Henry could be interpreted, if one chose to do, as corresponding to contrasting-yet-complementary concepts, qualities and attributes, such as the Moon, Sun and Star tarot cards, among others.

"What do you think?" She asked Guilmon and Terriermon, who seemed fairly disinterested.

"Well, personally, I think you're on to something, but that we have no right involving ourselves in whatever this is. You know as well as I do that we can trust them to work it out for themselves." Terriermon replied.

"A commendable view on the matter, I suppose," Guilmon complimented the rabbit. "At least, it would be, if it wasn't readily apparent that you only express that view, because it absolves you of any duty to care."

Renamon and Terriermon both stared blankly at him, as this intermediate level of eloquence was not something they associated with the saurian. "What?" Guilmon asked, in response to their staring.

"Are you alright?" Terriermon asked, surprised.

"Yeah," Guilmon replied, unsure of why she asked, pondering several potential explanations, before settling on what seemed like the most rational one. "Seriously?" He chuckled. "Guys, I've been in the human world for several years now. Did you really expect that my understanding of the japanese language wouldn't improve?"

Renamon supposed that his explanation was reasonable, though it was still slightly surprising to hear him speak _so _eloquently. Oblivious to her musings, Guilmon spoke. "Regardless, I'm with Terriermon. If Rika has a crush on Takato or Henry, that's her business to deal with, and not ours."

"I'm aware of that," Renamon replied, mildly distant. "However, I doubt it's either of them. I think it's _both_, somehow."

Guilmon gave a noncommittal shrug. "Still, if they're happy that way, then isn't it a good thing?"

Renamon hesitated slightly, trying to find a fault in his seemingly simple logic, and finding none. "I suppose... But-" She began before Guilmon cut her off.

"I don't think that this is entirely about Rika," Guilmon softly said. "I think that you're somehow worried that Rika will spend so much time with them, that you'll be neglected."

"... You're not altogether wrong..." Renamon conceded after a few seconds, shocked at his display of insight. "Of course, that would never happen... So that's what jealousy feels like..." She mused quietly.

"Yeah," Guilmon softly replied. Meanwhile, Terriermon was trying to quietly sneak away, and leave the dinosaur and the fox to have their moment in peace.

* * *

**Yes, they're speaking Japanese. That we read/hear/understand it as american/british English, is irrelevant. **

**Crap, this is a far cry from the simple-minded fashion I originally described...**

**Yeah, I don't really ship Renamon/Guilmon, and I don't expect anyone else reading this to do so; it's much too innocent, though when has that ever stopped a Shipper?**


	2. 119: Dreams

**I've been wanting to put this thing down for a while. If someone would leave a review, that would be fine, really.**

* * *

...

...

...

_Henry watched with horror, as Beelzemon's hand ripped through Leomon's stomach with appalling ease. If Beelzemon derived any sort of sick, twisted pleasure or amusement from the deed, he did not display any, as he retracted his hand from Leomon's gaping wound, nor when he kicked the disgusted Kyubimon away from him. _

_Henry barely registered Jeri's broken sobs, nor Kazu and Kenta's frightened discussion. He was far more concentrated on Leomon's dissolving data. He had assumed Takato's trembling to be out of panic and fear. How wrong he was..._

_Somewhere on the fringes of his frantic consciousness, he faintly registered Takato's anger. Takato's silhoutte lit up with crimson-white energy, signaling Growlmon's Digivolution into WarGrowlmon, as both Tamer and Digimon let out a guttural growl._

_He heard Jeri's sobbing intensify, as WarGrowlmon slowly proceeded towards Beelzemon, his murderous intent unmistakable, but he just couldn't... Bring himself to care about either of those facts. "Nice outfit... But you're still no match for me, ya big lump." Beelzemon spat, wondering if this pathetic human would actually try to fight him, a Mega, with a overgrown Ultimate lizard. He smirked slightly, as he continued to speak. "Just so you know, when I'm done with you, I'm gonna finish your friends, one by one!"_

_"You're wrong..." Takato spoke icily, trembling with barely-restrained fury. "You're the one who's finished!" As he said the last word, WarGrowlmon trembled for a second, letting out a brief guttural roar, as the rockets on his back flared with white-hot flames, flying him towards Beelzemon._

_The demonic biker smirked, before making a simple leap out of the path of WarGrowlmon's kick, wordlessly calling his pistols to him, firing a couple of rounds on the raging saurian, his rage blinding him to the damage they inflicted._

_Before Beelzemon could react to it or even consciously register it happen, WarGrowlmon had sunk his metallic maw in his midsection. Henry was quite possibly more horrified by Takato's direct order to tear Beelzemon apart, than he had been by Leomon's callous murder._

_To his own surprise and disgust, Beelzemon managed to get WarGrowlmon off him. Which was when the real trouble started, as Takato commanded his partner to keep fighting, and to Digivolve..._

_Unfortunately, a nearby bright light somehow provided him with all the energy he needed, causing the chest-marking to release bright-red flashes, and sharp, deeply crude beeps._

_WarGrowlmon was quickly coated in a thick, dark-red, fog-like, flame-aura. In the fog, his cyborg-dinosaur form contorted and twisted into a serpentine monster, the likes of which Henry had never seen before, not even in his worst nightmares._

_Even Beelzemon seemed unnerved by this new Digimon, taking a few steps back as it advanced towards him. It let out a hissing laugh, as if the mindless monster Guilmon had become somehow knew what Takato had wanted him to do to Beelzemon, and was savoring the thought, as Guilmon had savored bread and pastries._

_To his shock, Takato likewise let out a quiet hiss, encouraging the monster to take revenge. As if heeding the order of its master, Megidramon wrapped its tail around Beelzemon, before a cold utterance of 'Megiddo Flame!' could be heard from the dragon's maw, and Beelzemon cried in agony as his arm was scorched away, clutching the wound, cursing the fact that this injury wasn't sufficient to disperse his data.._

_Not content to let the suffering end, Megidramon slowly tightened its tail's hold on the demon. A minute later, Beelzemons severed body-halves fell to the ground, small trails of data flowing from him as he fell._

_"You're beautiful..." Takato whispered admiringly, studying his partners Mega form, oblivious to the trembling of the earth beneath his feet, and the ground shaking apart behind him, as various triangles of the marking on Megidramon lit up, shining with a bright light from deep within Megidramons chest cavity._

_In the distance, Henry could see several pillars of blood-red light erupt from the ground. Just how far did Megidramons power and influence over the Digital world extend, and how were they unaffected at the epicenter?_

_"With you, boy, we can get Calumon back," Takato said to his partner. Henry and Rika shared a nervous look, while Kyubimon softly said what they were both thinking; that Megidramon would have to be stopped, and possibly Takato with him. Neither of them liked the idea, but they couldn't deny its validity, either._

_"Takato!" Rika shouted. He turned around, having a soft smile on his face, and a look in his eyes that the redhead had never seen Takato have before, and decidedly didn't like. "This has gone too far. You've got to return Guilmon to normal!"_

_His reply was calm and focused, unnerving her to no end. Just what had he become? "I will, once we're back in the real world, with Calumon."_

_"No, Takato!" Henry shouted. "It has to be now! Don't you see what's happening to the Digital world?!" _

_In response to his question, Takato took a look around, taking in the devastation, even seeming to revel in it. "Yes, guys, I do see," He reassured them, not seeming to care about the fact that he was making them more frightened than before. "And now, if you'll excuse me, me and..." He paused to inspect his partners Mega form on his D-Arc. "Me and Megidramon are going to get Calumon back, and walk all over the Sovereigns, if we have to." He said, turning to leave, making his way toward the southern gate. Surprisingly, Megidramon slithered after him._

_However, before he could enter, he felt a hand on his shoulder. Turning, he saw Kazu, flanked by the worried-looking Rika, Henry, Kenta, Suzie, Renamon, Terriermon, Lopmon and Guardromon. "Chumley, you've gone too far. You need to listen-"_

_Takato cut him off with an glare. "'I' need to listen, Kazu?" He softly asked. "'I' need to listen?!" He repeated, his voice growing stronger. "'I' need to listen!? No, Kazu, it's 'you' who need to listen!" He shouted. "Time and time again, you and Kenta have been told to take this seriously, and what do you do instead? You goof around, wondering about which Digimon you'll get, with no concern for Calumon, which is, y'know, the reason we even went here. Rika was right: You shouldn't be here. So you guys have three options now. 1; come with me to find Calumon. 2; stay here, and 3; fight me over this. I can guarantee you that it's not a fight you want."_

_Rika shot Henry a nervous glance, as while she thought that Takato showing more backbone and composure was a definite improvement, she never wanted anything like this. "Dude, chill." Kenta said, shocked at his long-time friend's sudden harsh tone._

_"Yeah," Kazu agreed. "Chumley, you're a good friend, but you're way outta line-" _

_He was interrupted again, this time by Renamon."No, he isn't; In fact, he's completely right, on all counts."_

_"Regardless, we can't let you do this, Takato," Henry interjected._

_He was silenced by a cold glare from Takato. "So, I take it you're going to fight me over this disagreement?"_

_"No, Takato," Henry replied._

_"If we have to," Rika said, Renamon tensing behind her._

_Takato gave a sad shrug. "If that's your decision..." He paused, his calm tone terrifying them more than any amount of inhuman primal fury would have. "Hell Howling." An incredibly loud scream emerged from Megidramon. For a moment, Henry almost felt as though his eardrums had ruptured. Terriermon immediately reverted to his Rookie form. _

_How Takato could just stand there, seemingly unaffected, with an honest-to-god smile on his face, while everyone was clutching their ears, trying to tune out that infernal noise, he had no idea._ _Then, the noise ceased. Both Tamer and Digimon stood curiously, eagerly waiting for the other humans to recover from the attack._

_"Now you stay put, I'll be right back," He smirked_

_"No way, Chumley," Kazu shouted, much to Takato's annoyance. Didn't that guy know when to quit, when it was painfully obvious he couldn't win. "Don't you see what Megidramon is doing to you?!" He shouted, concerned for Takato. "If fighting you is the only way to make you listen, then we'll do it!"_

_"Kazu, I have had it with you!" He angrily shouted back. Sensing a potential threat to his Tamer, Megidramon reacted in the only way it knew; by releasing a torrent of flames on Kazu and Guardromon, who had a second to mentally process the incoming attack, and dodge it. Takato doubted that if they'd had ten seconds, it wouldn't have made a difference, as they were swallowed up by the inferno._

_A few seconds passed before the shocks of anyone present was relieved enough for them to speak. "You... Ki-killed him..." Rika whispered, thoroughly disturbed by the sight. How could the good-natured Takato do something like that? Something like what... Beelzemon had?_

_In their horror at the proceedings, they didn't notice the Digital world crumble to dust around them._

_"This is how it ends, I suppose..." Takato bitterly laughed. "All this, and we didn't even find Calumon..."_

_..._

_Henry screamed, spitting out what felt like a pint of blood, as he was impaled by Megidramons tail._

_Suzie didn't understand; Takato was nice, so why was he trying to hurt them? She didn't have long to ponder the question, dying almost instantly from exsanguination._

_Takato briefly wondered how Kenta's flesh, ripped and torn asunder though it was, tasted, as it made its way down Megidramons throat._

_Takato resisted an urge to laugh as Rika desperately asked for an explanation, the blood flowing from her drowning out her voice, while more blood than he'd believed possible eagerly poured out of her bisected waist._

_Leaving only the sobbing Jeri..._

_"DON'T KILL ME!" She pleaded, crying her heart out, curled up on the ground._

_Takato gave a brief humorless laugh, before turning his attention to Megidramon. "At this point, it would be a mercy-killing, wouldn't it, boy?" Megidramon tensed, as if... Unnerved by the idea of this one kill. _

_"Do it."_

...

...

...

_Rika __looked on with repugnance, as Beelzemon's hand ripped through Leomon's stomach with appalling ease. If Beelzemon derived any sort of sick, twisted pleasure or amusement from the deed, he did not display any, as he retracted his hand from Leomon's gaping wound, nor when he kicked the disgusted Kyubimon away from him. _

_She barely registered Jeri's broken sobs, nor Kazu and Kenta's frightened discussion. She was far more concentrated on Leomon's dissolving data. She had assumed Takato's trembling to be out of panic and fear. How wrong she was..._

_Somewhere on the fringes of her frantic consciousness, she faintly registered Takato's anger. Takato's silhoutte lit up with crimson-white energy, signaling Growlmon's Digivolution into WarGrowlmon, as both Tamer and Digimon let out a guttural growl._

_She heard Jeri's sobbing intensify, as WarGrowlmon slowly proceeded towards Beelzemon, his murderous intent unmistakable, but she just couldn't... Bring herself to care about either of those facts. _

_"Nice outfit... But you're still no match for me, ya big lump." Beelzemon spat, wondering if this pathetic human would actually try to fight him, a Mega, with a overgrown Ultimate lizard. He smirked slightly, as he continued to speak. "Just so you know, when I'm done with you, I'm gonna finish your friends, one by one!"_

_"You're wrong..." Takato spoke icily, trembling with barely-restrained fury. "You're the one who's finished!" As he said the last word, WarGrowlmon trembled for a second, letting out a brief guttural roar, as the rockets on his back flared with white-hot flames, flying him towards Beelzemon._

_The demonic biker smirked, before making a simple leap out of the path of WarGrowlmon's kick, wordlessly calling his pistols to him, firing a couple of rounds on the raging saurian, his rage blinding him to the damage they inflicted._

_Before Beelzemon could react to it or even consciously register it happen, WarGrowlmon had sunk his metallic maw in his midsection. Rika was quite possibly more horrified by Takato's direct order to tear Beelzemon apart, than she had been by Leomon's callous murder._

_To Rika's surprise and disgust, Beelzemon managed to get WarGrowlmon off him. Which was when the real trouble started, as Takato commanded his partner to keep fighting, and to Digivolve..._

_Unfortunately, a nearby bright light somehow provided him with all the energy he needed, causing the chest-marking to release bright-red flashes, and sharp, deeply crude beeps._

_WarGrowlmon was quickly coated in a thick, dark-red, fog-like, flame-aura. In the fog, his cyborg-dinosaur form contorted and twisted into a serpentine monster, the likes of which Rika had never seen before, not even in her worst nightmares._

_Even Beelzemon seemed unnerved by this new Digimon, taking a few steps back as it advanced towards him. It let out a hissing laugh, as if the mindless monster Guilmon had become somehow knew what Takato had wanted him to do to Beelzemon, and was savoring the thought, as Guilmon had savored bread and pastries._

_To her shock, Takato likewise let out a quiet hiss, encouraging the monster to take revenge. As if heeding the order of its master, Megidramon wrapped its tail around Beelzemon, before a cold utterance of 'Megiddo Flame!' could be heard from the dragon's maw, and Beelzemon cried in agony as his arm was scorched away, clutching the wound, cursing the fact that this injury wasn't sufficient to disperse his data.._

_Not content to let the suffering end, Megidramon slowly tightened its tail's hold on the demon. A minute later, Beelzemons severed body-halves fell to the ground, small trails of data flowing from him as he fell._

_"You're beautiful..." Takato whispered admiringly, studying his partners Mega form, oblivious to the trembling of the earth beneath his feet, and the ground shaking apart behind him, as various triangles of the marking on Megidramon lit up, shining with a bright light from deep within Megidramons chest cavity._

_In the distance, Rika could see several pillars of blood-red light erupt from the ground. Just how far did Megidramon's power and influence over the Digital world extend, and how were they unaffected at the epicenter?_

_If Megidramon appreciated Takato's compliment, he had a strange way of showing it, as Rika watched its tail rip through Takato's back, spine, ribcage and stomach, before flinging what would soon be his corpse, if it wasn't already, off, landing a few meters away._

_Jeri, Suzie, Lopmon, Kazu, Guardromon, Kenta, Terriermon and Renamon was quickly disposed of by the monstrous Mega, leaving Rika and Henry defenseless._

_Before either could react, Rika was caught by its tail, and Henry was pinned to the ground by its right claw. Rika suppressed a groan, as its jagged tail dug into her skin. _

_Slowly, Megidramon extended its other claw towards his chest. Henry panicked, as it could only want a single thing, and he had no way to fight back, but pointless struggling._

_He held back a pained groan as Megidramon's claws dug into the center of his chest-area, close to where the heart was. It smirked somehow, its eyes lighting up with sadistic merriment, at his futile attempt at denying it its fun. Seemingly not one to be deterred, the monster dug deeper, small trickles of blood flowing from the holes in his chest._

_When about a centimeter of its claws was embedded in him, Henry could no longer keep himself from screaming in agony. That seemed to have been all Megidramon was waiting for, as Henry felt its claw rip his flesh apart, and slice apart his heart on its passage through him._

_Finished with him, as Henry was finished with being alive, Megidramon let the dying boy fall to the ground, and turned his attention to Rika. To Megidramon's disappointment, as well as feeling a degree of surprise, the origin of which it couldn't quite place, the redhead had already given up. _

_No resistance. No words to fail. No struggling._

_Megidramon smirked. Humans were so easy to break. Really, a couple of gory murders, and they're ready to throw in the towel._

_As it had with Henry, Megidramon's claw extended toward her. Instead of a slow death by impalement, Megidramon turned his claws slowly, in a semi-circular zig-zag pattern, taking a surprising amount of care to make the elaborate pattern he was carving in her skin as perfect as he could make it. Had she been able to look at the marking, she would likely have noted a resemblance between the disfigurement of her flesh, and the Digital Hazard symbol on his chest._

_Once the marking was complete, Megidramon stabbed its middle claw in it's center, releasing its hold on her, more than content to watch her bleed to death._

...

...

...

The twenty-one-year old awoke with a start, his face pale and covered in a slight layer of sweat, his chest heaving rapidly with heavy panting, before slowing to mild whispers. Try as he might, he couldn't entirely shrug off those nightmares.

If he had his nightmares on something like a daily basis, he might grow used to them. When they happened every few months, no such comforts were possible, he bitterly mused.

Fortunately, neither Rika or Henry had woken up, because knowing them, he smiled, they'll likely read too much into a relatively minor issue. At least, he thought it was a relatively minor issue...

Deciding not to dwell on it, he snuggled back against Henry, wrapping his arm around Rika's waist, hoping to at least get a few more hours of sleep.

* * *

**'And now for something completely different' indeed, eh?**

**...**

**What? **

**Oh, come on, we all know that if we ourselves are not the ones making dark, gory fanfics, then someone else is bound to do so. That's how the Internet works.**


	3. 249: Loving Across Time

**Yes, the story was written to be ambiguous. Why do you ask?**

* * *

"I'm coming, guys..." Rika whispered while Renamon studied the passing of her Tamer with an accepting sense of sadness; it was inevitable that humans died with age, the kitsune were aware, though the knowledge did nothing to lessen the pain she felt...

The dissolution of her data, once her Tamer was gone, was a small comfort...

...

Elsewhere, deep within a flowery meadow, three people in their early teens, a navy-blue-haired male, a chestnut-brown-haired male, and a red-haired female respectively, sat, back-to-back with a smirking long-eared, white-skinned rabbit, a yellow-skinned fox, and a smiling red-skinned dinosaur respectively.

The thirteen Royal Knights stood around them in a circle, while the four Digimon Sovereigns stood behind the Knights, each in their own direction, eyeing the kids with something akin to scrutiny, nervousness and excitement. Above all of them, equally far from each Sovereign, a young boy with soft blond hair, around eight or ten years of age, floated, eight white feathery wings serving to keep him aloft, with a cold, arrogant smirk on his face.

"So," The red-head spoke softly. "This is the afterlife, huh?"

"Maybe," The navy-haired male replied. "Maybe this is the natural state of the general afterlife... Maybe it's the general afterlife, only twisted and warped, for us, by everything that's happened to us in our lives... Maybe it's our ideal afterlife... Or maybe it's just your dying dream..."

"Well, whichever..." The brown-haired smiled at them. "It could be worse."

The three got up, slightly shakily, giving the audience a appraising glance, as each felt the familiar sensations of the Bio-Merging on their skin, and in their minds. Gallantmon, Sakuyamon and MegaGargomon smirked at the assembled Digimon, as everyone present charged their best attacks.

After the unleashed attacks collided, and the energies released had dispersed, the scenery had faded away into a white nothingness, and the Tamers, along with the gathered Digimon, were gone, as though they'd never been there to begin with.

...

...

_Self-Defense Forces Central Hospital, Tokyo, 1992_

Sarah was about ready to collapse, to no-one's surprise; twenty-five hours of labor tended to take their toll, the obstretrician chuckled,

To make it worse, her husband had _flipped his shit _when the doctor left with their child, before he was informed of it being standard procedure. She understood the necessity of it all, as the infant had _not _looked pretty when he came out, but it had been a couple of hours since the attending doctor left. Just what was taking so long?

She was about to call for a doctor, to ask some questions, when what seemed like an intern walked in, carrying their baby, who was wrapped in cloth.

He smiled, passing the baby to her. "The child is healthy." He said, before leaving the two to their happiness.

Perhaps she was still woozy from giving, but when the baby opened it's eyes, she could swear she saw a pair of soft-purple orbs peering back at her. She blinked in surprise at the unusual eye-color, and when she got a second look, she saw nothing but clear-green eyes. She supposed that it had only been her imagination. "Any ideas for a name?" Spenser asked.

She smiled back at him. "Marcus, perhaps... Or Masaru..."

...

...

_Kameda Hospital, Yokohama, 1988_

"How're you feeling, Satoe-sama?" Keisuke cautiously asked, hoping to not upset his wife.

She shot him a harsh look. "How do you think?!" She gritted her teeth. "I've spent nineteen goddamn hours in agonizing pain, on a cold hospital bed. And to make it worse, I don't even get to hold my own child!?"

Just then, a nurse walked in, carrying her baby. "Finally..." Satoe groaned, as she received the child.

As she looked at her daughter, the girl slowly opened her eyes for the first time. In that moment, Satoe was positive that her daughter had the most beautiful, sparkling, soft-brown eyes.

...

..

_Jutendo Hospital, Tokyo, 1986_

"Congratulations, Mrs ichijouji," The attending nurse told her, returning their child to his mother. "The baby is perfectly healthy, as far as we can tell."

"Thank you," She replied tiredly, too exhausted to think up a more eloquent response. After almost twenty hours of labor, she could finally take a look at her son. The baby had wispy navy-blue hair, and similar navy-blue eyes. Though, for a moment, she almost thought that there had been specks of metallic-gray in his eyes, but if there had been, they wasn't there now.

"He's beautiful..." She whispered in admiration.

"Yeah..." Her husband whispered back, happy that it was finally over. "Have you thought about a name?"

She pondered for a few seconds. "Akio?"

"Bit too flashy for this day and age, don't you think?" He laughed softly. "How about Katsuo?"

"Not really a difference," She pointed out. "Yoshio, perhaps?"

"I think I know this one..." The nurse interjected, startling both of them. She quickly apologized. "Doesn't 'Yoshio' mean, lonely soldier boy?"

Both of them chuckled quite a bit at her question. "Actually, it means, admirable-soldier _man_... So not altogether wrong..." He replied, his tone having suddenly gone from jubilant to somber.

"I... Don't follow," The nurse replied, confused.

"And hopefully, you never will..." He quietly responded. A few seconds of awkward silence passed in the room, before anyone said anything further. "I know!" He exclaimed. "How about _Osamu_?"At this, the baby almost seemed to take interest in the conversation.

"Disciplined and Logical..." She muttered, considering that suggestion. "Sounds about right. And he likes it."

...

...

"Are you certain regarding this course of action?" Zhuqiaomon asked to Azulongmon, who simply gave a sharp look in response, which the Sovereign of the south understood well the meaning of. "What say you, Baihumon?" Both Sovereign turned to their third compatriot.

The armored tiger hesitated slightly, comtemplating how best to phrase his stance on the matter. "Like Ebonwumon, I utterly abhor this deed, yet I understand the necessity."

"Then, we are in agreement..." Azulongmon sighed. "The cycle will continue for another rotation..."

"What have we here?" A soft, childlike voice spoke. Soon, the three Sovereign found it's origin. The Demon Lord, Lucemon. "We, the great powers of the Digital World, know well your predilection for toying with human lives, fashioning them into soldiers and weapons whenever a threat to your supremacy arose, but this is a new low. Have you truly fallen that far?" Lucemon chuckled.

"You would know what it is, to fall and stray, would you not?" Azulongmon responded.

Surprisingly, the Demon Lord of pride did not particularly mind the verbal jab at him. Indeed, his smirk grew wide. "Indeed I would... I have witnessed it happen to countless ignorant fools... The Demon Lords, the Four Great Dragons, the Great Angels... We have lived but a fragment of what you have..."

"Indeed..." Zhuqiaomon dryly cut him off. "Your point being?"

"... A wise man once told me that ten million years of absolute power is what it takes to be truly corrupt... A very man, indeed." Lucemon said quietly, as the memories of a _fascinating _discussion, with a man with curly-blonde man, garbed in an incredibly garish coat, regarding power and morality, flashed across his mind. Though perhaps the man was no more a man than Lucemon himself was a boy. "Perhaps it is time for the Sovereign to retire, into oblivion."

"Lucemon, you know well the Digital World's need for it's protectors and it's Gods, it's heroes and it's Sovereigns." Azulongmon responded, not bothering to hide his annoyance with the fallen angel's insolent tone.

Almost impossibly, Lucemon's smirk widened further.

"Does the Digital World truly need such self-styled gods? After all, you are _not _true gods, like the ENIAC, Yggdrasil, Norn or ZeedMillenniumon are. You are simply a small group of Digimon who happened to reach their Mega-level forms ahead of countless others. Do you truly believe yourself to actually _be _gods? Have the countless incidents requiring human intervention not humbled you silly old fools further? And you claim I to embody pride?" Lucemon grinned, totally unconcerned with who he was provoking. It wasn't as though they could actually lay a finger on him, he supposed.

"Begone, fallen one!" Zhuqiaomon roared, his twelve DigiCores ablaze, about ready to unleash the fullest extent of his power on the boy.

"As you wish, _Zhuqiaomon,_" Lucemon gave a small mocking bow, fading out as easily as he had faded in.

"That eccentric boy is beginning to annoy me," Baihumon grumbled.

* * *

**So, when am I planning to write weird, open-ended, vague shit? The answer is obvious; Never.**

**Also, if the hospital scenes are inaccurate in any way, I apologize; I tried keeping it real the best, but I guess that some inconsistencies were unavoidable.**


	4. 252: Lust

**I think I've been taking the wrong approach to this in trying to incorporate Rika/Takato/Henry into all of these, as opposed to focusing on any two, IE, Rukato/Jenkato/Jenruki... **

**I'll try that until chapter 19-20...**

* * *

Henry gave a brief series of dry, raspy moans when he felt the tip of Takato's penis shudder as he exploded inside him.

Groaning loudly, both twenty-year olds collapsed on the futon, with Takato still buried inside him.

Slowly, their ragged breathing returned to a quieter pace. "How was that?" Takato softly asked, hoping to have pleased his boyfriend.

"_Goddamn annoying_, is how it was," Rika, who was lying next to them, groused, her voice slightly drowsy, cutting off Henry. She got up from her futon and glared at them, unconcerned by her exposed chest as her sheet slipped down to her waist.

"We've already received one noise complaint about the two of you being unable to keep quiet whenever you get an orgasm." She sighed, exasperated with them. "It's past 11, _go to sleep!_"

"Just us?" Takato smirked at her. "I seem to recall that one time-"

She cut him off, with a snort and a smirk. "That was one time; don't flatter yourselves."

...

...

...

Elsewhere in the apartment complex, the soft noises from downstairs caused Suzie to awaken with a start. Shrugging that it was likely them again, she snuggled her head into the pillow.


	5. 361: Rejection

**Guys? I've been doing some thinking (no snide comments). **

**Going over the past few chapters, I've found that they don't really accomplish what I wanted to do with this thing, namely Deconstruct the Polyamory/OT3 concept, unlike several other stories, like ****_Moments In Our Lives_****, ****_The Quiet Ones_**** and ****_Shots in the _****_Dark_****, which, in my opinion, are too idealistic in their portrayal of such matters as utterly accepting and joyful, and relatively simple for all involved parties, and their friends and relatives.**

* * *

Mom had _not _taken it well, Takato thought, when she found out about his relationship with Henry and Rika. Only several weeks later had she calmed down enough that she didn't yell at him whenever he mentioned them, or at Henry and Terriermon, for dropping by one time.

It wasn't that he didn't understand Mom's viewpoint, he just wished that he could get her disapproving looks out of his head, whenever he was out on dates with Rika or Henry. (They had tried a date, all three of them once... and promptly agreed _never _to try it again).

He gave a frustrated sigh; he loved them, but he just wished that being with them didn't come at the cost of his mother all-but-disowning him for it. He paused to consider his choice, deciding that while 'disowning' wasn't entirely accurate, their relationship _had_ become considerably more strained and distant since she found out.

The situation, while untenable, hadn't degenerated into violence so far; honestly, Takato doubted it ever would.

To his frustration, any attempts he made to address the issue were either met with her giving him the cold shoulder, or telling him assorted, incredibly trite statements, like 'that's nice, Takato' without even trying to attach any real sense of emotion.

He supposed that he ought not to complain that it had only lasted a couple of weeks before he could talk to her without getting a disapproving glare, but he just couldn't help but feel that the issue had been resolved in the worst way possible, if it even had been resolved at all...


	6. 386: Seeking Solace

**I have literally zero experience with writing fluff/drabbles/whichever category this falls under, but here goes...**

* * *

Even several weeks _(months, years...)_ of pondering, musing and speculating later, Henry still has as many unanswered questions, as he had when their 'arrangement' began._ (He hesitates to refer to it as their relationship, because that_ _would imply he had some damn clue of what exactly it_ _entailed...)_

He doesn't know what exact role he fills in the arrangement, he feels more than a bit jealous when they're doing things he isn't a part of, though he knows that, awkward as it likely would be, neither would turn him down if he asked to join in.

Bitter irony, he muses. He's the one with the largest family, and he's still the one who has no-one to confide in with his insecurities and worries about it _(Suzie's too young and Terriermon's more likely to say 'momentai' than give him a pep-talk)_. Rika and Takato have each-other for heart-to-hearts, and the few that he would talk to_ (Ryo, Kazu, Kenta, Jeri)_ either have their own, more serious, problems to deal with, or aren't exactly a prime choice of confidante.

It's not that he doesn't... _Love_ them, he eventually admits to himself one quiet night when his seemingly-endless questions about himself, them and _whatever they-have_ prevent sleep from claiming him; or that he's not happy in their company, it's just that Rika's not the first person he'll open up to, and he cares too much about Takato to want to come off as anything even remotely resembling a disheveled mess.

So, against his better judgment, he keeps his apprehensions, fears and anxieties bottled up.

When he finally does unload, to his surprise, it's Rika who tries to comfort him about it, doing a considerably better job than he expected, and Takato who simply agrees whole-heartedly with the red-head's statements.


	7. 499: 67 Percent

**Dammit, I really need to stop posting short-stuff like this...**

* * *

"So..." Henry began. Both Rika and Takato gave the eighteen-year old a curious look. "Do you think that we could actually make this work?" The redhead and the brunet shared a knowing look as Henry's recurring uncertainties regarding their relationship resurfaced. While none of them were particularly averse to try and relieve each other of their worries, she preferred them having such tender moments with three-to-four week intervals, as opposed to on a daily basis, lest it lose all meaning, and/or become tiring to do.

"Dunno," She softly said, surprising both of them with her uncertain tone. "I want this to last, really, I do, but I just... don't think it'll last. A _year, _at best."

Takato was the first to reply. "It'll definitely work. And if it doesn't, we'll make it work, right?" He asked the two.

Henry smiled, giving an affirmative nod, while Rika shook her head, giving him a mildly exasperated look. "You're too damn idealistic sometimes, you know that?"

"Yeah, I know," Takato replied softly, returning her grin.


	8. 388: Siblings

_Shinjuku, Nonaka Residence_

The seventeen-year old Rika Nonaka had seen many, many, _many_ unbelievable events in her life, from more Digimon-varieties than she could keep track of, to the D-Reaper, to being recruited to travel to another universe, allowing her to meet the Digidestined and various others, to meeting countless alternate versions of herself, the other Tamers, the Digidestined, and various people who had Digimon of their own, to finally visiting more than the odd alternate timeline and parallel universe.

For that exact reason, she was considerably less surprised than she supposed she ought to be when she woke up and the first thing she saw was Suzie crouching beside her futon, with her hands on her knees, watching her intently.

Rika cursed inwardly. Suzie appearing out of nowhere at her sixteenth birthday party was annoying and nonsensical enough, and now it was happening again?

"Suzie..." She eyed the girl wearily. "Care to explain why you're in my room?"

It wasn't until then that Rika realized that Lopmon wasn't present, which did not bode well; over the years, Terriermon had rubbed off on the mild-mannered rabbit, more than what was healthy.

"I need to talk to you." Suzie replied with trepidation as well as a faint edge present in her voice, her expression mildly dour.

"It's about Henry?" Rika flatly replied, her response being less a question and more an outright statement; Suzie's nervous expression answered for the twelve-year old.

"Yeah..." She quietly said, hesitating for almost a minute, pondering how to best phrase her next question, and to express it in a way that wouldn't annoy or provoke the red-head. "Do you love Henry?"

Rika froze. Had Suzie just asked that? "That's a rather personal question, don't you think?" She glared at the girl, mildly annoyed by her prying. The ghost of a smile tugged at Suzie's lips. The older girl's icy glares had never affected her particularly. Indeed, Suzie had even come to expect and be amused by them.

"But do you love Henry?" Suzie asked again, unsatisfied by the answer.

Rika shook her head in exasperation. She didn't much enjoy discussing her love-life with others, let alone before breakfast. It was, _literally_, too early to deal with this crap. "Suffice to say, I care deeply about Henry. I realize that it's a somewhat vague answer, but it'll have to do..." She replied in an dangerously low tone, telling Suzie to let the matter drop.

"I guess..." Suzie sighed. "Then, could you break up with either him or Takato?"

Rika was strongly taken aback at her request. After a minute, she had recovered enough to form a coherent sentence, without sputtering. "What!? NO!" She exclaimed indignantly. How Rika managed to keep still, Suzie didn't quite understand. "Why would you ask!?"

"Because you're hurting him!" Suzie cried back, surprising Rika, who had no clue as to what she meant, nor could the red-head remember anything related to Henry, any date or simple interaction, that had ended less than amicably.

"What do you mean, 'hurting him'?" Rika sharply asked, worried.

"Look, I know it's not because you wanted to," Suzie softly replied. "But... Henry's probably never told you, but... Whenever you're on dates with Takato, and we're at home, or at Tai Chi practice, Henry... I guess that he gets jealous." She sighed. "It's not that he acts remotely peevish, or particularly emotional about it, but he just gets that less-than-content look in his eyes." She quickly added in response to the red-head's quirked eyebrow. "It's subtle, but it's definitely there..."

_This_ was definitely surprising to hear, Rika decided. "And you're sure that you aren't reading too much into it?" It wasn't until that moment that she finally realized the absurdity of the situation; that she had been carrying on a lengthy conversation, while still lying underneath her bed-sheets.

"No, I'm sure of it," Suzie shook her head.

"I see... If Henry doesn't consider it important enough to mention, I'm not going to force the issue," Rika answered succinctly, much to Suzie's frustration and shock. She paused, trying to think of some witty retort.

"You're the worst girlfriend ever!" Suzie cried. "Do you even care about Henry?!"

In that moment, Suzie knew that she'd screwed up monumentally, as Rika narrowed her eyes at her, shooting her a glare that she found she couldn't simply shrug off. "Suzie, I like to think I've been patient with you, but if you're just going to ask insulting and pointless questions, then this conversation is over. Get out of my room."

"Sorry..." Suzie whispered, mildly bashful. "Just... Talk to him about it, okay?"

Rika's expression softened, and she let out a mild sigh. "Alright, Suzie... If whatever this is gets noticeably worse, I'll talk to him about it."

"Please do that..." Suzie smiled. "And if you don't, I'll kick your ass!"

"I don't see how you trying to kick my ass would help anything," Rika shot back, smirking, appreciating the younger girl's attempt to lift the mood of the conversation with a lame joke. Overprotective older brothers, she'd heard of, but overprotective younger sisters? _That_ was a new one. "But don't worry, Suzie... I promise I wil-"

Rika froze in disbelief, seeing something sufficiently odd to faze her, namely Lopmon doing a slow, plodding walk by her bedroom, her mouth agape in a gleeful smile, carrying a tray of pizza with her ears.

"Excuse me," Suzie grumbled, walking out of her bedroom, going after Lopmon. The next thing Rika heard was the loud noise of the crashing tray, and Lopmon's screaming, "PLEASE, SUZIE! SPARE MY IMMORTAL SOUL!" followed by Suzie's shouting, "GET HER! STOP HER! DON'T LET THAT RABBIT GO!", either or all of which _had_ to have awoken her Mom and Grandma.


	9. 112: Distasteful

Mayumi likes to think of herself as a kind, patient and understanding person, yet she can't help but feel a quiet twinge of... something akin to _resentment_, she decides when she realizes just how_ fucked up_ her life has become, because of them (_Janyu, for creating the Digimon that took two of her children away from her; Henry, for deciding to travel to another reality, without as much as a word or even a note on the refrigerator; and Suzie, for out of childish innocence and excitability, to keep one of the creatures sent to destroy their world, as her pet and partner-in-crime)_.

Nonetheless, she's long forgiven them for it, because she knows that whatever worries they cause her, they're generally unintentional.

Despite that, there are things she's unable to forgive them for, and Henry's depraved _'a__rrangement' _with Takato and Rika not only crosses that threshold, it does a goddamn Iron-Man across, and returns with a marching-band that's conducting some bizarre off-kilter mesh of Linkin Park songs and Beethoven's 7th.

To her further frustration, Janyu is unable to offer anything besides a solemn apology and a gaping look at her rather incoherent analogy _(How a Nu-metal band and classical music relate to a polyamorous relationship, he never quite understands)_.

She's met Takato and Rika a few times, and while they are nice, friendly people, they aren't the sort of people she ever imagined him getting together with, let alone both of them. Him being gay, she wouldn't mind, but _this..._

Still, Henry's her son, and if this sort of thing makes him happy, then she'll support him whole-heartedly, no matter how she feels about it.


	10. 248: Love

**How's this for FridgeHorror; we know from the Parasimon invasion that the D-Reaper incident wasn't the last battle to be fought in the Tamers-universe, so why should we assume that the Parasimon incident was? And why should we assume they'll all survive?**

**...**

**Takato Matsuki, ****Rika Nonaka, Henry Wong, Jeri Katou, Ryo Akiyama, Kazu Shioda, Kenta Kitagawa, Suzie Wong, Ai and Mako [Terada?], Alice Mccoy**

**Digimon Tamers.**

**...**

**Mitsuo Yamaki, Riley Ootori, Tally Onodera, Gorou 'Shibumi' Mizuno, Janyu Wong, Rob Mccoy, ****Aishwarya Rai, Babel, Daisy**  


**Hypnos.**

**...**

**Never The End.**

* * *

_Shinjuku, the apartment complex that the Wong family reside in_

In the living room of their shared apartment, the twenty-year old Rika Nonaka was sitting by the dinner table, working on her college term paper. Takato had left for his shift at the bakery about an hour ago with Guilmon _(at least, she thought it was about a hour)_, and Henry with Terriermon had also left shortly afterwards, as he'd received a call from Hypnos.

So she and Renamon were left alone in the apartment to enjoy a quiet moment in each-other's company. At least, Rika noted, they were, until something occurred; whether it was another of ZeedMilllenniumon's leftover living space-time paradoxes, overconfident groups of Digimon trying to make something of themselves by challenging the Digimon Tamers, or another batch of the eight Digidestined from the show arriving from an alternate timeline of their universe.

The tranquility of the apartment was broken suddenly, when the front door opened, and Henry walked in, sporting a more perturbed, almost frazzled, expression than she would normally associated with him, which alarmed her mildly.

He took a deep sigh. "Rika, we need to talk."

"What is it?" She casually inquired, without diverting her attention from the paper. "Another psychotic, impeccably-mannered alternate-Takato with a Megidramon?"

To her surprise, rather than replying with words, he approached her, cupped her face and kissed her deeply. Rika wasn't entirely certain why he was suddenly so affectionate, but she wasn't exactly complaining.

After a few seconds, he broke the kiss, pulling out a chair and wordlessly joined her by the table.

"You could just've said, 'hi'," Rika smirked. "And I'm sorry, but I really have to finish this. The teacher's lenient enough as it is, and I'm not going to push my luck-"

"Do you love me?" Henry blurted out, eyeing her intently.

"What the hell kind of question is that?!" She angrily responded. "Of course I do!"

"How am I supposed to know that?!" He exclaimed in frustration. "Rika, we've been together for over three years, slept together countless times, and I _still _can't remember any time you've told me that you loved me beyond the first time you said it!"

Rika was about to open her mouth to retort, when she suddenly realized that, well, Henry was right. Thinking back, she realized that in fact, it had been over two years since she'd told him. She mused that she had unconsciously assumed him to not care about that, though that _really_ had been a mistake.

"I'm sorry, Henry," She said softly, unable to think of any other replies.

"Just... Why?" He whispered wistfully.

Rika sighed deeply. "I honestly thought you didn't care about that."

Hearing this, Henry's expression changed almost instantly from dejected to shocked. "Rika, I know that you aren't the kindest, warmest person in the world, but this is just..."

"I know..." The red-head whispered morosely. "And for the record, I do love you."

"Right..." Henry sighed. "Are you just saying that because you know I want to hear it, or because you mean it?"

"Hey, I can do both," Rika shot back with a smirk, her voice laced with not-entirely-feigned indignation. Henry resisted the urge to shake his head at her _(improbably, but possibly unintentional)_ double-entendre.

...

Later that afternoon, Takato and Guilmon returned to the apartment, and were met with a nearly-finished term paper that was due in a couple of days on the dinner table, and in the bedroom, a nude Henry sprawled on the futon, sound asleep, with an equally-nude Rika nestled up to him, her arm draped around him.

He smiled softly. Whatever had happened between them, he knew they'd appreciate him keeping his distance from it.

As he closed the door as quietly as he could to avoid waking them, he almost thought he could hear a faint utterance that sounded like 'love you', though he couldn't hear who had said it, if either of them at all.

* * *

**Hey, I think I'm getting better at this! It's certainly longer now.**

**Sorry if the Japanese education system doesn't hand out college term papers, but as a danish person, I wouldn't understand the finer details of that, and I've found nothing to the contrary.**


	11. 417: Parallel Universes

Rika Nonaka had seen a great deal of strange, alien and inexplicable events in her eighteen years of life.

However, what was waiting for her and the other Tamers and their respective Digimon partners, in a room on the thirty-sixth floor of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, was something that she would never have seen coming.

Leaning against the right wall was her, Henry and Takato, at age sixteen, much to her shock. That 'her' had a world-weary, regretful expression on her face, as if she was perpetually on the verge of tears, that 'Henry' had a deeply sullen, annoyed look on his face, as if he was perpetually prepared to snap at any given moment, and that 'Takato' seemed altogether indifferent to the people around him. Their partners, Renamon, Guilmon and Terriermon, were beside them, sharing their respectiveexpressions.

As she distinctly remembered them not being _anything _like that two years ago, , she ruled out them being their past selves, leaving clones, alternate timelines and parallel universe-counterparts. If they were, she'll remember this event from two separate perspectives.

The twelve-year old set of them leaning against another wall, with past 'her' keeping to herself, matched her memories of those days better, though they seemed subtly different, happier then she remembered, conclusively ruling out them being their past selves. Likewise, they had their partners with them as well.

Strangely, Yamaki was nowhere to be found. A quick look at the other Tamers and Digimon of her own time comfirmed that they were as in-the-dark about the situation as she was. Even more strangely, Suzie was smiling.

"This is so cool!" She declared excitedly. Before Henry or Ryo could shout at her to stop, lest she accidentally caused a time-paradox, she charged at the twelve-year old Tamers, pulling them into a group hug.

"Thanks," The alternate Takato nervously said, wondering why a total stranger was hugging him. "But... Who are you?"

"And would you mind letting go?" The alternate Rika calmly and sharply asked. "How do you two keep getting me into these messes? I've told you repeatedly that I don't need you, so just leave me alone." She angrily told Henry and Takato, while Suzie giggled softly. "What's so funny?"

"Nothing," Suzie off-handedly responded, before her face lit up, having an idea. "Rika, this is you from before Renamon reached her Champion form, right?" She asked, unnerving the twelve-year old with her knowledge of her partner's inability to Digivolve, though she supposed that it was reassuring to know that it was simply a momentary hurdle to overcome.

"Suzie, we _really _shouldn't tell them about the future," Her brother sternly told her. "We have no idea what could happen if they found out the wrong thing."

"Momentai, Henry," Suzie, Lopmon and Terriermon told him in unison, before she continued, sounding more serious. "Besides, it's fine for vague stuff like this."

Henry couldn't really think of a decent counter-argument to her claim that them learning 'vague stuff' was fine, nor did he entirely understand her definition of 'vague stuff', which he supposed was arguably the point...

"Still, the less they find out, the better," Takato of the present spoke.

"Takato, you don't really think that any of these guys are you, in any sense?" Rika smirked. Takato wasn't sure how to respond, as he had actually thought so, as it'd been the most reasonable explanation; they were too similar and too natural-looking to be some kind of cosplayer.

"The Ruki of this world is right," The reticent Takato sharply told his older and younger counterparts. "You two aren't me, nor am I you, in any sense."

"Ruki?" Suzie said, confused. "Her name is Rika Nonaka."

"In this world," Their Henry gruffly interjected. "In our world, she's Ruki Makino."

"Really?" Suzie asked.

The Henry of Ruki's universe shot Suzie a bitter look. "Yeah."

"What's wrong?" She asked, concerned.

"... It's... nothing, Shiuchon," He lied, puzzling Suzie, who responded that her name was Suzie, not Shiuchon, confusing him in turn. "But, aren't the Jenrya Lee and Shiuchon Lee of this universe asian?"

"Jenrya?" Henry and the other Tamers exclaimed, before noting the similarities between that name and Henry's. "We _are _asian, we all are," Henry replied. "But my name is still Henry."

"Why do you and Shiuchon have american names in this universe?" Henry's double, who apparently was called Jenrya, asked, somewhat bemused.

Henry and Suzie shrugged. "Don't know; never really wondered."

"So, we can't ask you guys anything about the future?" The Takato of the youngest set inquired. Surprisingly, it was his sixteen-year old counterpart, who so far had remained quiet, that replied.

"You can," He spoke, mildly exasperated, in an attitude that reminded the twelve-year old of Rika. "We aren't your definite future selves, only possible ones, so you learning anything unfortunately wouldn't wipe away our sordid lives." He bitterly spoke, perplexing everyone, earning disapproving looks from Ruki and Takato, as he'd said too much.

"Sordid lives?" Jeri asked?

"You're SUZIE?!" Her now younger brother exclaimed, shocked beyond belief at seeing his younger sister now older than him, and having her own Partner, much to his consternation, as he had wanted to keep her out of that...

Jenrya, Ruki and Takato shared a saddened look, as they knew that if these versions of them was anything like themselves, they wouldn't let the matter drop. "No way around this now..." Jenrya sighed, and gave a bitter chuckle. "I'm guessing from the presences of Shiuchon Lee, Juri Katou, Hirokazu Shioda and Kenta Kitagawa that your initial foray into the Digital World to retrieve Culumon, went _considerably _better than ours..."

The Tamers of the present shared a strong sensation of discomfort, when the memories of that journey washed across their minds. "I wouldn't say it went well-" Takato got out, before his counterpart cut him off.

"That's not what Jenrya is asking," The sixteen-year old angrily drawled, glaring at them. "Everyone is still alive here, which is all that matters."

"What do you mean?" Ryo asked, causing the three sixteen-year olds to stare at him disbelievingly.

"Are you an idiot?" Ruki wearily asked, before mentally bracing herself to recount the tale, beginning a minute later. "In our timeline, the search for Culumon didn't go as well as it did in this one. Endless fighting, with other Digimon and eachother... It was almost a relief, when Beelzebumon came... And killed Hirokazu, Kenta and Juri..."

No-one, eighteen-year old or twelve-year old Tamers, were sure how to respond to something like that, beyond shocking gaping and hollow apologies. Regardless, she continued her story.

"After Juri's death, Leomon was _pissed_. He fought with such brutality... He even sacrificed his own life, to slay Beelzebumon... After that... We continued searching... Several months passed, to no avail. The three of us drifted aimlessly, loading random Digimon as we deleted, without even a care for why. Then, one day, we arrived at Zhuqiaomon's domain... And he returned us to the human world, without as much as a word, or a hint as to where Culumon was..."

She paused, to catch her breath, and to keep the raging tempest of emotion that recalling the events stirred in her, in check. "Returning to the human world... Turned out to be the worst part of it; back home, by having Digimon partners, we ostracized ourselves, and made our families pariahs. There was nothing left for us in the human world, so we returned to the Digital World. And that's where we've been for over three years, unless we've lost track of time..." She finished her story.

However, while everyone else was horrified by the tale, the twelve year old Rika seemed indifferent to it all, much to Ruki's shock and ire. "Seriously?" She asked, incredulously. "_That _was your solution? Running away from your problems? Yes, it was horrible, I'm not denying that, and I'm sorry you had to deal with all that, but instead of facing up to it, you left your families behind. Not only that, but from that sobstory, it sounds like it's been years since you left, and you're _still _hung up on it? You three are pathetic."

"HOW DARE YOU?!" Ruki screamed indignantly, charging at her younger counterpart. The twelve-year old barely reacted, before she felt herself get lifted off the ground, by the trembling hand wrapped around her throat. Blinded by pain and anger, she didn't feel Renamon's soft paw on her wrist, anymore than she cared about the sickening noise it made when the present-day Renamon pressed it.

"I don't care why you felt a need to do that," Renamon quietly and acutely spoke, while the red-head clutched her wrist firmly, in a futile attempt to tune out the pain. "But under _no_ circumstance will you harm anyone."

Jenrya knew that his version of Takato wouldn't stand for anyone harming or endangering his friends, and that only held infinitely more true, when it was Ruki that was affected. Though he doubted the brunet would try and fight Renamon on his own, he couldn't rule out the possibility of him acting entirely on the instincts Takato had gained over the years.

Surprisingly, he simply placed a hand on her shoulder, and after Ruki shot him a spiteful glare, they left the room. "What was _that _about?" Ryo and the younger trio exclaimed, while Suzie smirked lasciviously, knowing _exactly_ what they were leaving to do.

"Wait..." The younger Rika whispered, as realization dawned on her. "ARE ME AND GOGGLE-HEAD TOGETHER?!" She screamed, her cheeks soft red.

"Am I the only one who realizes how incredibly bizarre this is?" Jeri sighed with exasperation, wondering why none of the three Henrys, Rikas and Takato seemed to consider the oddity of meeting more than a single alternate version of themselves particularly noteworthy. _"If little-Rika think that's weird, she's got another thing coming..."_

Suzie shook her head. Unusual events were everyday-business for the Tamers, she knew, but moments like this still served to make history. Or quite possibly _break_ history, literally, she noted, with mild bemusement.

* * *

**Well, that's that. Hopefully I managed to keep it consistent, with three separate versions of the same character in the same room.**

**Don't expect a reapperance from the alternate Rika/Takato/Henry \ Ruki/Jenrya/Takato.**

**...**

**_'How does this relate to the OT3 exactly?'_ is probably a question I should've asked myself before making this.**


	12. 120: Drink

**####, forget what my profile says about this being on hiatus. It seems that I've got another one coming.**

* * *

_Shinjuku, the apartment complex that the Wong family reside in_

Rika was more than a bit surprised when Renamon entered the apartment, not by phasing in, but by entering from the front door, doing a slow, plodding walk.

"Renamon?" The nineteen-year old sharply asked the kitsune, mildly worried. Her partner gave a dazed look, her posture swaying almost imperceptibly, much to Rika's surprise. "Are you drunk?!"

There was a brief pause before Renamon answered. "Bitch, I might be!" She slurred her words.

Rika shot her partner a annoyed glare. While there was very little she wasn't willing to tolerate or eventually forgive from the people she cared about, she drew the line at vulgar name-calling, among other things.

"Oh, did I touch a nerve?" Renamon said in a sing-song voice, before her expression turned serious, almost grim, and she vanished into thin air.

"Terriermon," Henry gently smiled. "Do you know anything about why Renamon is apparently drunk?"

"Well, I can't ignore the possibility, Henry," The rabbit gave a nervous chuckle, trying to ignore Rika's glaring.

"What did you do?"

"I'm guessing that you're angry?" Terriermon inquired rhetorically. However, he hadn't in his wildest dreams expected Rika's expression to remain level and outwardly calm.

"Angry? No..." Rika replied quietly. Terriermon knew that the redhead becoming snarling and frenzied with white-hot fury was infinitely preferable to her current state of mind, so he decided to tell her everything she wanted to hear. "Care to try again?"

"Alright, well, um... Renamon, me and Guilmon... We... Kinda tried a little experiment..." Terriermon grimaced.

"What sort of experiment?" Takato asked. He wasn't even angry anymore; kinda curious actually.

"I think the technical term for it is 'bio-chemical barrier'," Terriermon replied shiftily. "Momentai, everyone?"

Rika dropped her head into her hand, hoping that the rabbit wasn't saying what she suspected he was.

"So you decided to get Renamon drunk, to find out what she could and couldn't stomach..." Takato said flatly.

Terriermon nodded in affirmation, his trademark smirk returning to his face.

"Where did you three even find someone to serve you drinks?" Henry eyed his partner quizzically. "And where did you get the money?"

As if in response to his question, Takato's face dawned in comprehension. "So _that's _why Guilmon asked to borrow a few thousand yen last night!"

Takato wasn't sure why Rika and Henry suddenly stared at him with incredulity.

"You lent Guilmon a few thousand yen, and you didn't even think to ask why?" Rika scowled. She knew he wasn't a genius by human standards, but this was still hard to believe.

"To be fair, Rika, the first thing on my mind when he asked wasn't exactly a round of drinks at a bar," Takato pointed out.

"I suppose-" Rika began before being interrupted by Henry's ringing cellphone.

The three of them groaned in exasperation, knowing exactly what it signified, shuddering at the thought of the drunken antics the lightning-fast Renamon could carry out in minutes.

In between her natural speed and agility, and her penchant for roof-hopping... Even intoxicated, their chances of catching up to her were slim-to-none...

"Hello?" Henry tentatively asked, and heard his father's voice.

"Henry, I don't suppose you could explain to me why Renamon suddenly showed up, french-kissed your mother, and disappeared?" Janyu asked, both amused at the bizarre situation and annoyed at it as well.

"As far as we know, she's, well, drunk," Henry hesitantly responded, deciding not to sugarcoat it. For a moment, Janyu paused, and Henry thought he could hear him snickering on the other end.

"Are you serious, Henry? Drunk?" Janyu asked, still mildly amused at the notion. "Yes, her coding is supposed to generate fully functional internal anatomy, but _drunk_?"

"We think so," Henry replied. "Apparently, she, Terriermon and Guilmon went out for a round of drinks-"

"It was only one drink, actually," Terriermon interjected. Rika stared in disbelief. She briefly considered asking what single sort of drink could possibly have that sort of effect on Renamon, but decided against it; the situation was nonsensical enough as it was.

"What single alcoholic beverage could possibly have _that _effect on Renamon?" Takato asked, bewildered. "I seriously doubt that you got anything _that _strong for barely two-thousand yen."

"Suffice to say, me, Lopmon and Monodramon know a guy," Terriermon grinned, nodding sagely.

"Right," Rika wearily drawled, deciding not to argue with it.

Henry eyed his partner, wondering how Lopmon and Monodramon were involved in this.

"We'll have this talk later..." Henry groaned, hanging up the phone.

Suddenly, Rika's phone vibrated in her pocket. She took it out, and saw that the caller was Jeri. To her surprise, on the other end was not Jeri, but Calumon.

"RIKATHANKAZULONGMONZHUQIAOMONEBONWUMONBAIHUMONAND ENIACTHATYOUANSWEREDRENAMONSHOWEDUPANDSHE'SGONECRA ZY!SHETOLDJERISHELOVEDHERANDNOW'STHEY'REMAKINGOUTA NDSHEJUSTVANISHEDINTOTHINAIR!" He frantically cried into the phone, hurting her ear slightly. Rika briefly wondered how he'd managed to press the buttons with those stubby fingers, though there were more important matters to attend to.

"Once more, Calumon, slowly," She told the distraught Digimon, as she hadn't understood much of it the first time. "What happened?"

On the other end, she heard Calumon take a breath. "Renamon showed up, and she told Jeri that she loved her. Then Renamon started making out with her, and now she's gone. What happened to her?" He asked, worried for his make-shift Tamer and for Rika's partner.

"She's drunk," Rika answered flatly, uncertain of how the creampuff would react.

There was a slight pause on Calumon's end. "... She's whhhaaaa!?"

"_Drunk_, Calumon. You _do _know what that is, don't you?" Rika inquired.

"Well, yeah, but how?!" Calumon replied. It was one of the things humans did to themselves that he had found best not to make sense of.

There was a slight pause on his end, and she heard Jeri's voice. "Rika... WHY DID RENAMON JUST FRENCH-KISS ME?!" She exclaimed, before trailing off into outraged and frenzied complaints.

"Because she's drunk," Rika bluntly replied, cutting off Jeri's rants.

Jeri paused, trying to process what Rika had just told her. Drunk? Was that even possible for Digital life-forms like Renamon? Certainly, their programming allowed them to generate fully functional internal anatomies, mister Wong had mentioned, but was Renamon actually capable of digesting human food and beverages? And would it have the same effect for her if she did?

She knew that some Digimon at least could eat human foods; Guilmon did so often, and Terriermon and Calumon had likewise, but as far as she knew, Renamon had never eaten anything, nor seemed to need it.

"How?" Jeri flatly asked. After giving it some thought, it was actually rather fascinating to think about.

"Terriermon," Rika responded immediately.

"I resent that," Terriermon interjected, pouting.

"And soon, Renamon's going to resent you," Rika shot back. Jeri assumed that she had been talking to Terriermon, and hung up, deeming the conversation ended. Shrugging, Rika decided to get some answers. "Terriermon, why would you think any of this was a good idea?"

His answer came swiftly. "FOR SCIENCE!"

Takato and Rika blinked in confusion, wondering what, if anything, Renamon getting drunk had to do with science.

Her musings on this conundrum were interrupted when her cellphone ringed again. This time, she saw that it was Ryo.

"What did Renamon do this time?" She asked, shaking her head in exasperation. Ryo hesitated to respond, wondering how she knew why he was calling. He dismissed the possibility of her sending the kitsune as... Too tacky, for either of them to do. A sudden flight of fancy on Renamon's part seemed likewise unlikely, and there'd been no recent bio-emergences, ruling out a Digimon mind-controlling Renamon.

That left alternate versions of Renamon, or even something as unlikely as a human psychic. "Nothing much; she just came in, said hello, started making out with Monodramon, nothing much..." He reported with mild amusement, watching the highly flustered dinosaur gently ask Renamon to knock it off.

"Okay, now she's asked him to Digivolve to Cyberdramon, Millenniumon, Moon=Millenniumon, ZeedMillenniumon, as apparently, 'it'll make it better'."

Rika didn't respond, trying to figure how exactly Renamon and ZeedMillenniumon would do that. Renamon and Monodramon, Cyberdramon or Millenniumon, she could imagine, though it was still disturbing, but ZeedMillenniumon had no physical body, so how could...

She decided that she _definitely _didn't want to know.

"Yeah, she's kinda drunk," Rika said.

Ryo didn't reply, instead breaking down into fits of laughter. After several seconds, his snickering ceased. "That's... Considerably more mundane than I expected... And she just left."

"Great," Rika grumbled.

...

...

...

Riley honestly thought she had been prepared for this. In-between the Digimon and the D-Reaper, the abundance of alternate timelines and parallel universes she'd had dealings with, and even something as mundanely odd as Henry, Takato and Rika getting into a polyamorous relationship a few years ago, she honestly thought that she was prepared for anything that Hypnos and the Digimon Tamers could throw at her.

How wrong she was.

"Ya know, I-it's not unusual... For a small-town girl to find someone who loved you, the way I do... So what do you saay? Let's... Get it on!" Renamon whispered, her voice slightly slurred, softly caressing a visibly uncomfortable Yamaki's face.

"That's... A very interesting offer, Renamon," He replied, wondering why she was hitting on him with what appeared to be song lyrics. "But I'm going to have to decline..."

Renamon evidently didn't appreciate hearing that, shooting Yamaki as much of a dirty glare as she could. However, her stumbling posture and glazed look ruined any intimidating effect it might have had on him or Riley.

Suddenly, she spread her arms out. Both Yamaki and Riley knew all-too-well what that meant.

"Stond Diamorm!" She exclaimed loudly, before breaking down snickering. Yamaki decided to call Rika while Renamon was _(not yet literally) _laughing her ass off, and took out his phone.

Seemingly responding to him doing so, Renamon's gaze sharpened, her posture stiffening. If Riley hadn't already decided the kitsune to be drunk, she might've bought Renamon's attempt at seeming sober.

"You... p-plan to interfere with Father's plans?" Renamon asked, angrily-yet-coolly. Unfortunately, her voice was suddenly so slurred that the only words Yamaki understood was, 'Father', if he had heard her correctly, and something about 'plan', which he decided to be utter nonsense.

Riley's expression turned confused. To her knowledge, Renamon had no sort of parentage. "What?" She briefly wondered what Renamon had heard, since she turned to her, shooting her a murderous glare.

"Th-the laws... Laws of... Time and tide melts the snowman are mine, and they will obey... PUSSYCAT!" Renamon drawled loudly, her voice slightly clearer than it previously had been.

Yamaki immediately decided that there was something laughably silly, yet unnerving about a drunken superpowered fox with superhuman strength and speed.

Riley thought that Renamon had said, 'Laws of Time', whatever it referred to; honestly, it sounded like something from a sci-fi novel...

Suddenly, Renamon tensed, as though she had sensed some Digimon Bio-Emerging elsewhere, worrying Yamaki somewhat, though he knew that she likely lacked the presence of mind in her current state to actually respond to that.

"Later," Renamon quipped, before fading away, leaving the bewildered Riley and Yamaki in her wake.

...

...

...

_With Jeri and Calumon_

"That was..." Jeri stopped, trying to think of words to describe the sensation of being french-kissed by Renamon, of all... Did the word, 'people' apply to this situation, Jeri wondered. Renamon wasn't human, after all. She was on par with humans mentally, but did that mean that 'people' was the term to use?"

"Exciting?" Calumon cheerfully suggested "Uncomfortable? Question-raising? Weirder than finding porn of me on the internet?"

Jeri blinked in disgust and mild belief at the last part. Calumon porn? Who in their right mind would make something like that? Even before that, who in the world even knew what Calumon looked like enough to make that sort of filth?"

"Where did you even learn what porn is?" Jeri asked, worried for her partner's innocence and mental state. Truthfully, she was a bit saddened that he wasn't entirely the cheerful, childlike Digimon he used to be; though she knew that everyone grew up and matured with time, did that really have to happen at the expense of innocence? Wasn't there already enough darkness in the world?

"Society," Calumon simply answered, noticing Jeri's troubled expression. "What's wrong?"

Before the brunette could answer, Renamon materialized in the apartment, much to their consternation, as neither were particularly inclined to deal with drunken antics.

"What now, Renamon?" Jeri asked, mildly peevish, taking a cautious step backwards for good measure, having no real interest in another kiss.

"Iiiiiiiiiii... I am not a p-puny weakling like _you _are," She stammered. Jeri was a bit uncertain of which one of them she was adressing, if anyone, but she didn't appreciate it regardless of who it was. "I AM ONE OF THE HO-HOMO-HOMUN-HOMUNCU-HOMOSEXUALS!"

"Well, that would explain a lot," Jeri dryly noted. Renamon eyed the girl with an indecipherable look in her eyes that Calumon didn't appreciate, as the kitsune began to approach his Tamer.

Jeri backed away from Renamon, holding up her hands defensively, while Calumon tried in vain to stop the fox.

"Please Jeri, don't rrresissst me," Renamon whispered, dragging out one of the words. "I b-beg of you, allow me to... To... To demonstrate the truth of my love!"

"What?" Calumon flatly asked, skeptical. This was the second today that Renamon was saying that stuff.

"Renamon, you're drunk, go home," Jeri dismissively said. However, Renamon didn't seem to hear her, continuing to approach her slowly, to Jeri's mild discomfort.

"JERI!" Calumon cried frantically when Renamon planted another kiss on Jeri's lips against her wishes, guiding a paw down her shirt.

Both Renamon and Jeri froze in disbelief when Calumon's body unleashed a golden light. Was... Was he Digivolving?! But, that was impossible. Jeri knew that for a fact; having been created as the Catalyst of Digivolution, he lacked the ability to do so himself. So how was it possible? And into what?

Jeri closed her eyes when the light turned blinding. When the light that had passed through her eyelids had faded into darkness, she tentatively opened them again, totally unprepared for the sight that awaited her.

Taking a quick look at the drunken kitsune, she saw that the fox was no less surprised about the newly-minted Rookie floating before them.

Calumon's Rookie form wore a pristine-white toga, draped over his right shoulder, leaving the strange soft-violet markings on his chest exposed, markings that were also present on his shoulders, hands and feet. His hair was soft-blonde, and his eyes wide, blue and icy-cold, glaring at Renamon with dispassionate fury, for her actions towards the woman that was the closest thing he had to a Tamer, a partner. On his back were six set of angelic wings, with one set emerging from his head, and another set at his waist. Around his wrists and ankles were matching golden rings.

"Th-thi-this body... Won't last much longer..." Renamon drawled. Jeri's confusion gave way to mild concern. Did the alcohol have those kinds of effects on Renamon, or was it simply more drunken raving? "B-but like me, you're a Digimon: Digital Monsters like me! Your body belongs to me!" She roared shakily, swinging a half-clenched paw at the angel, who barely seemed to react, catching the sluggish punch effortlessly, with his right hand.

"I do not care what is currently affecting you," Lucemon spoke, as he tightened his hold on her paw, eliciting a mild yelp of pain. Jeri stared in shock as Renamon's paw made a sickening noise. "You dare to come in here, and harass Jeri like that... For these travesties, you will now take the rest of eternity to die. Only _then_ will your pain cease. And you will have better cause for what you have done than I." Lucemon declared coolly, with barely restrained fury, as he and the snickering Renamon flickered, teleporting out.

...

...

...

In the darkly-lit bedroom of another apartment in the same building, Henry was soundly asleep on a futon-bed, with Takato huddled up to him and Rika huddled up against his back.

Had he been awake, he might've felt the energy surges pulsating through the bedroom air as he might've seen the blinding light.

Slowly, the three stirred, blinking a few times, seeing within the dark, a figure floating in the air, carrying Renamon. Takato reached for the lightswitch.

They immediately wished he hadn't, seeing a familiar face from the Demon Lord invasion four years ago.

"Do with this wretch as you wish," He was told by a scowling Lucemon. The three immediately recoiled at the sight, Rika covering herself with the bedsheets. Henry and Takato knew that if Lucemon wanted to kill them, they couldn't do anything to stop him, as their D-Arcs were in their clothes.

-Lucemon quirked an eyebrow when Rika put her arm underneath the sheets, and took out her D-Arc. Takato stared incredulously at the sight; had she brought it with her to sleep last night? Though, he supposed that it was a good thing that she had...

"Bio-Merge Activate!" Rika's D-Arc whirred, and soon, the yellow-armored shaman stood, poised to defend her loved ones.

"Leave immediately, Lucemon!" Sakuyamon demanded. Her speech was slightly drawling and slowed. Henry mused that even unconscious, Renamon's half of the Bio-Merge still influenced Sakuyamon somewhat, leading him to worry whether she could really handle the Ultimate-like Rookie. "I will not allow you to harm any of us."

Surprisingly to Henry, or perhaps unsurprisingly, Lucemon didn't take her demand very seriously, giving a wide smirk in response. "As you wish."

Sakuyamon, Takato and Henry blinked. While the fallen angel's tone was as smug as they remembered, his current response had also seemed... More cheerful or jovial, in a way, than it should have.

"Calumon?!" Takato exclaimed in shock; it was the only explanation he could think of. Sakuyamon and Henry stared at him, wondering whether he was certain. After a bit of thinking, Henry mused that it actually made some sense for Calumon, if he actually could Digivolve, to become Lucemon, as their Attributes, types, and Families were fairly close, though he still doubted it strongly.

Sakuyamon, however, dismissed the thought, as Calumon had been created as the Catalyst of Digivolution, having the power to change the forms of other Digimon, while lacking the ability to Digivolve himself. Though she knew that the Catalyst had been removed from him long ago, he still couldn't Digivolve, having no Rookie-form or Tamer to provide emotional power for...

Sakuyamon froze in mid-thought, realizing that perhaps, there _was _a Tamer for Calumon; Jeri! The two did hold some strange connection ever since the D-Reaper many years ago, but was it possible, even then, that a Tamer could somehow get a new partner? Ryo had done that, but Agumon, Veemon, Monodramon and Guilmon hadn't been his true partners, Monodramon only becoming that after forcing the Jogress with ZeedMillenniummon, while Leomon had been Jeri's partner.

"I Digivolved from Calumon, that much is correct," Lucemon offhandedly answered, much to the three's surprise. "If it would truly relieve you all of tension and anxiety, I will revert immediately to that creature you know so well," He told them.

Sure enough, his skin was starting to turn pale, his wing dissipated into energy, and soon, the familiar form of Calumon stood before them, with a happy smile on his face.

Calumon wasn't altogether sure what was going on, or why Rika, Henry and Takato was staring at, or why she was Bio-Merged with Renamon, as he couldn't remember anything from when Renamon kissed Jeri waking up in their apartment, but he didn't really care all that much about that, as he was just happy to see them again.

"What's up?" He asked merrily, his expression turning concerned when none of them ceased to stare in bewilderment. Weren't they used to him after all these years? Unless...

Takato and Henry yelped in confusion when Calumon suddenly bolted out of the bedroom, shouting that he was in another alternate timeline, and that he wanted to go home.

Sakuyamon shook her head in exasperation, as this would most likely result in another noise complaint...

"Three-thirtyseven..." Sakuyamon noted, before separating into Rika and the unresponsive Renamon. "Screw it, I'm not going to wait an hour or two, just to watch the sunrise."

With that, Rika crawled into the futon, Takato huddling up against her, wrapping his arm around her waist, while she wrapped her arm around Henry. Slowly, a soft smile grew on her lips.

Soon, the three were soundly asleep once more.

* * *

**To anyone saying/thinking/feeling that Calumon was OOC, please remember that at the time of this chapter, it's been over six years; people can and will change greatly over that time-span, and only the dead can avoid the most minute of changes.**

**And about the Calumon porn, I weren't kidding.**

**...**

**As for Calumon digivolving into Lucemon, it does make sense, when you compare their statistics.**

**Calumon/****Lucemon**

**Levels: In-Training (assumed; fits with general power displays)/****Rookie**

**Attribute: unknown/****Vaccine (Doesn't rule out the possibility, as even Attributes can change as easily as everything else over a single Digivolution)**

**Type: Holy Beast/****Type: Angel**

**Family: Virus Busters/****Family: Virus Busters**


	13. 034: Being Replaced

**Revised 15/10/2013, in order to include the latest updates from Suzie's Story: The Second Adventure... Geez, this is becoming an entire AU.**

* * *

On the roof of the thirty-third floor of the Tokyo metropolitan government building, or Hypnos HQ as it was known among a select few Shinjuku natives, stood the nineteen-year-old Rika Nonaka, wearing a white shirt with a heavily-stylized purple yin-yang pattern on the chest, navy-blue jeans and a black jacket, her red hair cut short.

Nearby, Renamon stood leaned against a wall. The kitsune Digimon knew well her Tamer's preference for isolated, even somewhat grandiose, sceneries whenever she felt a need to be alone with her thoughts, or ponder some matter, or even simply felt like getting a decent view of Shinjuku.

Even after all these years, she hadn't changed on that, Renamon mused, though she wasn't sure whether to find that comforting or disconcerting...

This location certainly qualified, they agreed, featuring almost nothing but colorful, sprawling cityscape in both directions, as far as Renamon could see.

Shinjuku, from this vantage point, was always incredible to behold, but it was even more breathtaking, bathed in the soft light of the setting sun.

_"People look so small from up here..."_ Rika thought to herself, absently watching small dots, people and cars alike, skitter through the prefecture.

Both Tamer and Digimon shared a soft smile through their connection; while they had a reputation for being occasionally distant and aloof to strangers, Renamon doubted that they would act otherwise, if they could see this...

At the moment, however, the only thoughts that passed through Rika Nonaka's head, were speculations about how to best kill her boredom.

The responsibility of handling stray Bio-Emerging Digimon had over the years fallen to the younger Tamers; Suzie, Ai, Mako and their partners. Occasionally Ryo, Kazu or Kenta would pitch in, but even that was once-in-a-blue-moon.

Likewise, they were more often than not be the ones to be called into Hypnos, to do the brunt of the fighting, or for Yamaki's latest invention or weapon in need of testing, and even, then, rarely more than one at a time.

Herself, Takato and Henry rarely fought Wild Ones anymore; those that they did fight were generally overconfident Ultimates or Megas that had forced their ways across the barrier between the worlds, and tried to prove themselves by slaying the Tamers responsible for defeating the D-Reaper several years ago.

Had it simply been the D-Reaper's defeat seven years ago, they might have been forgotten about, but after the Parasimon incident six years ago, the Royal Knight thing five years ago, the Demon Lord affair three years ago and countless other events, the Tamers had been living legends in the Digital World.

... It had never crossed Rika's mind before, but spending the first eighteen years of your life, fighting otherworldly monsters, travelling to alternate dimensions, parallel universes and through time and space, and generally having incredible experience that ordinary people could never relate to, tended to leave a person with a melancholic lack of purpose later on in life, she mused.

Her musings were interrupted by her cell-phone ringing in her jacket-pocket. Both Tamer and Digimon knew what the few beeps signified.

"What is it this time, Yamaki?" Rika disinterestedly inquired. She honestly didn't mind being called into action, quite the

"A standard alternate timeline scenario, Rika. Emergence point; Yoyogi park. Care to handle it, or would you prefer to spend another hour or two brooding, atop the building?"

I'm on it," Rika responded immediately, hanging up the phone. She was really beginning to regret having signed for active 'multiverse duty', as the procedure of returning timelost versions of the Digidestined, Tamers, Legendary Warriors, DATS Agents and Generals home had come to be known around Hypnos.

"What might it be this time?" Renamon curiously asked. "Another set of the Digidestined? The Legendary Warriors, perhaps? Or maybe more variations upon ourselves?"

"The Digidestined are likely, I suppose," Rika replied. "But if it's the Legendary Warriors, hopefully it's a timeline sans TycoonSilphymon. And I'll rather not face another version of myself if I can help it."

The kitsune knew what she referred to. Though not all 'visiting' versions of Rika, or Ruki in some timelines, found out about it, those versions that did find out about her and Henry's relationship with Takato rarely handled the revelation well.

However, she wasn't exactly certain what those two alternate Kazus from a few weeks back had meant by, 'OT3! Score!'...

...

...

...

At the same time in Yoyogi park, an unusual phenomena was taking place. Had anyone been around to watch the air suddenly light up with golden light, they likely would've blinked more than a few times, as they would at seeing four thirteen-year olds and a ten-year old falling to the ground.

"Are you guys alright?" The only girl in the group, a blonde wearing a soft-lilac cap, vest and skirt, asked the others, her voice laced with concern.

"Yeah, Zoe," One of the boys replied. He wore a yellow T-shirt with a black, stylized D on the chest, under a red jacket, and dark-brown pants. "How about you guys?"

The other three boys nodded in response, much to the girl's relief. "So how do we get home?" Zoe asked, seeing no reason not to be blunt about it.

"I don't know, guys," Takuya admitted, surprising everyone. He wasn't the type to give up very easily. "But I know we'll find a way home."

"How would we do that?" Koji bit back, skeptically. "This isn't something we can fight, Takuya. We're stuck here, and none of our Spirit forms can change that."

"But _I_ can," A sharp, confident female voice called out to them. Zoe turned around, and saw a woman with short red hair in a black jacket and navy-blue jeans. Tommy eyed her warily. She was decidedly a pretty lady, with ginger hair, soft skin and lavender eyes, but there was also this unmistakable feeling of strength around her, like they weren't a match for her, even in their Beast Spirit forms.

Strangely, there was something that just... Seemed familiar about her to Zoe.

"And... Who are you?" JP nervously asked.

"Rika Nonaka," Came her succinct reply. Their eyes collectively widened at hearing her claim to be Rika Nonaka, which they doubted to be true. They had all met the red-head a while ago, and she looked quite unlike the woman, though Zoe supposed that age accounted for most of that.

"Long time no see," Takuya cheerfully greeted the red-head, surprised to receive an amused look in return.

"Takuya, I've never met any of you," She bluntly told them, confusing him as to her meaning; he definitely remembered meeting her, along with Takato, Henry, Ryo, Suzie, Jeri, Kazu and Kenta, so how would she pretend not having met them in turn? If she hadn't, then how did she know his name?

"What do you mean you've never met us?" Tommy quizzically asked.

"Tommy, there are thousands upon thousands of versions of us in a nearly infinite amount of alternate timelines," She told the group, confusing them further. Zoe didn't quite understand how this was relevant to the conversation, though she suspected that an answer was forth-coming. "I'm most likely not the same Rika Nonaka you've met."

Though he tried, Tommy just couldn't entirely wrap his mind around the concept. If he understood everything right, there were a lot of parallel versions of himself, and Takuya, and Zoe, and JP, and Koji, and Rika. But if there were, why had Ophanimon chosen the version of Tommy Himi that was him?

Just then, he realized that if it was true... Then, he would most likely never meet Suzie again.

"And just to be on the safe side, Zoe, can you Fusion-Evolve, or perform Unified Spirit Evolution?" Rika casually inquired. She had no interest in facing TycoonSilphymon Again anytime soon.

Zoe blinked; why was the red-head asking if she could do something that only Takuya and Koji could do? And if she really knew so much about them, why would she need to ask? "No, of course I can't. Only Takuya and Koji can do that!"

"It would be more accurate to say that only Takuya and Koji _have _done that, but I digress. Do you have the Spirits of Darkness with you? Because you need those to get home."

Koji and the others shared confused looks, wondering how the Spirits of Darkness could send them home, when Susanoomon likely couldn't.

"We do," Koji reluctantly admitted. "But first, why are you trying to help us?"

Rika and Renamon shared a wry smirk; so far, it was going as expected and as usual. "Suffice to say, the people I work for have a vested interest in getting you five back to your own timeline."

Takuya blinked, skeptical at her statement. Who was the future-Rika working for that would want them to get home? Why did they want them to return home? And how did they even know that he and the others had landed here?

"Alright, who do you work for, and why do they want us home, rather than here?" Koji irritantly asked.

"I work for Hypnos, and the rest is on a need-to-know basis," Rika responded. "Now, if I remember correctly, the combination for MagnaLoweemon should be the Spirits of Flame, Water, Earth and Wind into Darkness."

The group eyed her curiously, unsure of whether she knew what she was talking about. Takuya and Koji had only managed to Unified Spirit Evolve because of the power they received from Ophanimon, and now she wanted one of them to take some new form?

"No harm in trying, I suppose" Takuya reasoned to the others, though he didn't expect much, or even anything at all, to happen, holding up his D-Tector, as they held up theirs. "Flame and Water into Darkness!" He exclaimed, sending a trail of bluish-white energy, and the Flame and Water Spirits from his D-Tector into Koji's. Ever since the final battle with Lucemon, they had kept the Spirits whose element opposed theirs in their D-Tectors.

"Earth and Wind into Darkness!" Zoe declared, and the Wind and Earth Spirits flew from her to Koji, getting the Spirits of Light in return. The navy-haired boy didn't particularly like giving up his element, but from what future-Rika was saying, it would only interfere with the transformation, and he could always get it back later.

Even knowing that didn't help ease his apprehensions about giving it up.

"Unified!" Koji yelled, as the tell-tale bands of energy appeared around his right hand. "SPIRIT!" He extended his left arm, holding his D-Tector. "EVOLUTION!" This time, he raised both arms above his head, sliding his D-Tector against the energy-bands, causing them to widen and engulf him.

From there, everything went dark for the boy. Around him, he saw the familiar enormous rune-like pattern, and the ten Spirits, only much larger. So far so good, he nervously thought, unsure of how this transformation would proceed.

It continued as he expected, with him falling through the tunnel of energy, and the Spirits flying into him. This time, however, it was different. Instead of that familiar, warm surge of light tickling his skin, igniting every nerve in his body, he felt... It was like his body had been wrapped entirely in shadows so thick that they let no light or heat in. Surprisingly, he didn't feel cold; on the contrary, it felt pleasant, and relieving.

Zoe, Takuya, Tommy and JP blinked in shock at the new warrior that stood before them. While otherwise the spitting image of MagnaGarurumon, he was jet-black, and wielded a sword instead of a laser-cannon, and a shield instead of the sniper-rifle.

Strangely, both the shield and sword seemed to made of darkness, as the sword, while mostly the correct shape, had a few wispy, smoke-like tendrils... Zoe paused to consider exactly what they did. For the most part, _growing out of it_ seemed the right word to use, but that implied that the sword was alive, and it wasn't... She hoped.

"Wait, you said, 'combinations', plural," Zoe suddenly realized. Did that particular term imply that other possible forms were available, simply by switching elements around? Rika's weary sigh told the girl that she was right, though she started to doubt it after trying to figure out exactly how many there were accessible... twenty-seven forms, to the second place. The third place... deduct eighty-one, she noted... seven-hundred-and-twenty nine forms! Ten times that, minus seven-hundred-twenty nine... Unless Zoe was off, there were six-thousand-five-hundred-fifty-six possible forms, or variations on those.

She was aware that it ultimately might not matter which four sets of Spirits were unified, but if so, why had future-Rika specified using the Wind, Earth, Flame and Water Spirits?

"Wait, since you know which sets of spirits unlocks that form, does that mean you also know which four sets would let me perform Unified Spirit Evolution?" Zoe hopefully asked. It really wasn't fair that only Takuya and Koji got to. She wanted to do it too. At this, Tommy and JP perked up, wanting the same information.

"I've seen that transformation a few times over the years, and I'm _not _unlocking TycoonSilphymon for you, Zoe," Rika responded, annoying Zoe slightly.

"But you'll unlock whatever form this is?" She bit back skeptically. Though she knew it wasn't possible, as she hadn't gotten an upgrade to her D-Tector like Takuya and Koji, she didn't consider it unreasonable to get more of an explanation for why she didn't tell them beyond, 'no, just no',

"Yes, because given a choice, I'll rather deal with a Digimon sporting low-order spacetime powers, than TycoonSilphymon." Rika shot back. Zoe wondered how this possibly could ever be the case. Spacetime was another word for the universe, or physical reality itself. Just what sort of power did TycoonSilphymon have?

"What do you mean? What can TycoonSilphymon do?" Zoe demanded, doubting the veracity of Rika's information; 'Tycoon' made no sense, except (_barely_) as a pun on 'Typhoon'.

"While we haven't exactly tested it, TycoonSilphymon's speed and physical strength are supposedly great enough to stalemate all thirteen Royal Knights, and I've seen nothing to the contrary," Rika answered briefly. Takuya was definitely sure that she was either wrong, or lying; his and Koji's Unified Spirit Evolution had struggled to defeat two of the Royal Knights, and now she claimed that Zoe's alone could fight evenly with thirteen of them?

"I don't even think that Susanoomon could do that," Tommy replied, with a newfound admiration for Zoe. At the description, the girl formed a mental image of a heavily-ripped Kazemon with bulging muscles on every part of her body.

Rika's expression turned pensive. "Likely, he could. Omnimon would likely be only one posing trouble for you five."

"Omnimon?" Tommy sharply replied. "He's the one who got me, Suzie and the others of that other Digital World that the other Takato blew up!"

Rika and Renamon barely reacted to any part of that sentence, which Zoe could only consider a testament to how odd their lives had to be. To her dismay, she realized that this was likely what was waiting for her as well; a life where rather than settling down in mundanity, she would be traversing alternate timelines and parallel universes on a regular basis, fighting whatever threats to the Digital World came along, and where the best case scenario was her being dead by the age of twenty, killed in battle.

"So you met Suzie on her interdimensional trip years ago?" She asked Tommy, who enthusiastically nodded in response. "Well, sorry to say it, but she's gone."

"Wha-what?" Tommy stuttered, while Zoe exclaimed it. Takuya, Koji and JP were speechless. Did Rika mean that Suzie was...?

"Yeah," Rika responded flatly. "She left with Lopmon and her own group a few hours ago. They should be back by tonight."

"Then, where is she?" Tommy tentatively inquired, wondering what, or who, Rika meant with Suzie's 'own group'. "And who else did she leave with?"

"Suzie and Lopmon are currently traveling the divergent timestreams of the multiverse, along with Cody Hida and Armadillomon, Kristy Damon and Gumdramon, and Relena H. Norstein and Biyomon." She answered, deciding for good measure to omit the last member of that group; it wouldn't do for him to learn his future, whether he would readily accept it or try to change it.

Tommy hung his head, dismayed, as he rather would've liked to meet Suzie again. "Wait, if there's such a powerful form available for me, why didn't Ophanimon give us that form to use?" Zoe questioned.

"How should I know?" Rika snorted. Takuya supposed that there was no reason to expect that she would. "Regardless, it's time that you went home."

"And how do I do that, exactly?" Koji dryly asked, from with MagnaLoweemon. "I have no idea what this form is called, or what it can do; how am I supposed to get us home? And what even makes you think that our version of this form can control space and time?"

"Just do what feels natural," Rika suggested softly. "And don't worry. We'll get you home, even if this form can't get you there."

"How would you do that?" Tommy glumly asked, strongly doubting Koji's ability to use the powers of a Digimon he'd never transformed into before.

"We'll find another way," Rika firmly replied, reassuring the pouting boy somewhat. "And if we don't..." She paused. Honestly, she doubted that he'll cooperate, or that anyone would condone the idea, but in order to preserve the stability of their timeline, they had to go back. The Legendary Warriors stared, mildly curious as to why she had stopped. "We'll have ZeedMillenniumon send you home."

"Who?" They blankly asked, before a thought crossed their minds. "Is _that _what this form is called?" They asked, gesturing to Koji.

"No," Rika answered slowly, with a tremble in her voice. "ZeedMillenniumon is something infinitely more powerful than any of you can even begin to imagine."

"Oh..." Zoe whispered, wondering why she sounded unnerved by this 'ZeedMillenniumon". "What sort of Digimon is ZeedMillenniumon?" Zoe asked, regretting asking when a brief look of abject horror appeared on Renamon's face.

"He's less something that exists, and more something that happens... Or, more accurately, _will _happen." Rika explained, leaving Zoe and the others with more questions than answers, chief among which why she was using time-oriented pronouns to describe a Digimon, a living being. "We seriously aren't getting paid enough for this crap..." Rika sighed.

"If you'll recall, I'm not getting paid at all," Renamon wryly pointed out.

None of them, save for Tommy somewhat, understood what she meant, but they didn't have much time to ponder about it, as scattered specks of Koji's darkness began to swirl up surrounding them.

The Tamer and kitsune watched with mild interest as the specks grew into shadowy blobs, which grew into a dome covering them. Slowly, the umbral dome dissolved, with the Legendary Warriors nowhere to be found.


End file.
